Sweaters
by only.a.small.fish
Summary: Thor tries to get Loki to wear a sweater.


Loki sipped warm tea from a large white mug as he meandered lazily into the living room of his temporary apartment. He and Thor had been convinced into staying for Christmas by the eager pleas and requests of Steve,Tony and Jane. So far it had been pleasant and he was beginning to enjoy earth's customs. Especially the particular kind of tea he was drinking. Who would have thought that peppermint could make such an excellent beverage?

He pulled at the edge of his t-shirt absentmindedly as he walked to where Thor was reclining on the sofa, the top of his head poking over the back of it. Thor looked up as he walked in and a wide grin spread across his face. He leapt up and stepped around the end of the sofa, approaching his brother.

Upon seeing what Thor was wearing, Loki nearly dropped his cup.

"What. Is that."

"It's called a sweater!" Thor exclaimed enthusiastically. He tugged at the edge of the garment and pulled it taught so that his brother could inspect it.

"Why is it so...ugly?" Loki asked, rubbing his hand delicately down the ribbed texture. Thor looked offended

"It's not ugly! It's wonderful!" he protested, shaking the front of his sweater at Loki who recoiled his hand in mild disgust.

" 'Wonderful' is hardly a word I would use to describe, that." He waved his hand up and down Thor's body vaguely. Thor looked down at himself sadly for a moment, but revived almost instantly with an even brighter smile of his face.

"Maybe you just don't like the color!" he suggested, referring to the flaming red yarn that the sweater was made of. "I've got another one." He went around behind the table and bent over, his head disappearing but his bright red back still bobbing in view. There was some rustling and obscure muttering and then a loud smash as Thor slammed the top of his head into the underside of the table. Loki set down his cup quickly and darted around behind the piece of furniture separating him from his brother.

"Thor!" he cried, crouching down next to the latter. He placed his hand gently on Thor's back. "Are you alright?"

To his surprise, Thor sniggered. Loki pulled back slightly, eying his brother with worry. Thor lifted a hand to rub the growing bump on his head and snorted upon feeling how large it was.

"Thor...?" Loki tried, tilting his head to the side, attempting to look into Thor's face. It wasn't needed, however, because at that moment, Thor threw his head back and laughed. Loki stared at him in a panic, fearing that the blow to his head had altered his sanity.

"You worry too much, brother!" Thor laughed, placing a large hand on Loki's head and touseling his sleek hair, much to his annoyance.

Loki grumbled something about brothers getting into trouble and picked up his cup again. However, before he could even bring it to his lips, Thor took the cup from his grasp and put it down again. Loki watched in forlorn as Thor slid it across the table and out of his reach, his hands still frozen the the position they had when they held it.

"Come here," Thor urged beckoning for Loki to follow him away from the table. Loki reached for his cup desperately, but Thor dragged him away.

Loki reluctantly allowed himself to be steered towards the sofa. Thor pushed him backwards and he landed on the cushions with a soft thump, a frown on his face.

"What do you want Thor?" he asked irritably. "Why can't you just tell me?"

Thor smirked devilishly and pulled a fuzzy green sweater from behind his back. Loki wrinkled his nose up in disgust. It had to be the ugliest piece of clothing he had ever seen.

"Is that supposed to be for me?" he demanded, not trying to hide the disdain in his voice. Thor nodded and held it out for him.

"If you think I'm going to be putting on that...that abomination, then you, brother, are highly mistaken," he declared. Thor's face fell, as did the arm holding the sweater. Loki automatically regretted his words and hastily tried to make amends.

"Oh...Alright then," he said in mild annoyance. Thor looked up with gleaming eyes.

"Really?"

Loki sighed loudly. "Not if you keep standing there much longer. Come on and get it over with." He beckoned for his brother to hand him the sweater, but Thor had other ideas.

He readied the sweater in his hands and took up an attack stance. Loki watched him warily with confusion.

He suddenly realized what Thor was about to do, but he was too late. Thor took a running jump, crying out in jubilation, and slammed the sweater down over Loki's head. Though Loki denies it to everyone who asks, Thor remembers distinctly hearing Loki squeak.

"Thor!" he cried, his head sticking out of the sweater like a large tomato and just as red. Thor laughed heartily and lifted one of the sleeves dangling about Loki's neck.

"Come on, put your arm in!" he urged. Loki gave him a scathing look, but complied reluctantly. He slid his arms into the scratchy sleeves of the sweater and pulled down the bunchy garment. He had expected it to stop at his hips, but it turned out that Thor had bought the sweaters in his size. The result was something similar to a fuzzy green dress that hung about three inches away from Loki's knees.

"Thor..." he started to say, holding up his hands which were hidden by the overly long sleeves.

"I think it's a little bit too big," Thor said with amusement, inspecting how the sweater had swallowed his brother's thinner body.

"Oh really?" Loki said sarcastically. "I never would have guessed."

"Wow, that's kind of adorable."

The two gods turned quickly, searching for the source of the new voice. Tony Stark was eating a doughnut expressively in the doorway, his arms laden with shopping bags and boxes of ornaments.

"Tony! How did you get in?" Loki demanded. Thor grinned widely and stepped forward to embrace their guest. Tony struggled with his things to haphazardly give Thor an awkward return hug. When Thor broke away from their brief embrace, he immediately took some of the boxes Tony was carrying and took them into the kitchen. Tony then turned to answer Loki's question.

"Thor gave me a key," he replied, holding up the silver object with some difficulty. "Didn't you know I was coming?"

"No," Loki huffed "Thor never tells me anything."

"He certainly knows how to dress you though," Tony mused. "I like what you're going for here. Sort of a messy, childishly feminine feel. It's great a look," he said jokingly. Loki scowled and attempted to cross his arms. However, the bulky knitted fibers prevented him from anything more than a bizarre entanglement of limbs.

"Ooh Thor, you'd better have one of those for me," Tony said suddenly, looking past Loki's shoulder. Loki turned and felt what remained kf his spirits sink down to the bottom of his stomach.

Thor was now wearing a knitted reindeer hat, it's floppy ears and antlers bouncing as he walked. He grinned at Tony and pulled two more hats from the same bag the sweaters had been in. He tossed one at Tony who slammed it on his head with relish, and one at Loki. Loki held up the knitted object by one of its furry brown ears.

"Oh lord..."


End file.
